THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Lawn Tennis teams resumed their process of rebuilding in the preseason period over the last weekend by testing the waters of the 7th Olivarez Cup Open Tennis Championship at the Olivarez Sports Complex from August 13-14, 2016.
The tournament invites the top youth and senior players from within and outside the confines of the metropolis to compete for the top spot in both the team and individual open events. Frequented by high schools stalwarts and mainstays from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP)— including tennis powerhouses National University (NU) and the University of Sto. Tomas (UST)— the Olivarez Cup served as a training ground that provided the Blue and Lady Eagles with an avenue for healthy competition in preparation for the coming season.
The weekend seeded the competing schools into contention in the singles and team events. The Blue and Lady Eagles fielded several of their rookies and tested the mettle of their new recruits against high school youths and rival collegiate players.
The Blue Eagles sent one team to compete in the Men’s Interschool Team Tennis division, where a best of two singles, doubles, and possible third do-or-die singles match determined the results of the bracket. The Blue Eagles bested the University of Perpetual Help in straight sets to earn a quarterfinals slot. Their battle for a berth in the semis, however, wrote the end of their campaign as rookie Julian Dayrit and veteran doubles duo AJ Rivero and Luke Flores fell to a strong De La Salle Zobel (DLSZ) side.
In the women’s interschool team competition, the Lady Eagles fielded two squads to represent the Blue and White, with coach Jenny Saret testing the chemistry of rookie and veteran on the clay. However, only one side would make it through the preliminary round to stay in contention for the finish in the semifinals next week. Krizhelle Sampaton, Jana Pages, Jana Hernandez, Nicole Amistad, and Mary Grace Rivero composed the first team, which defeated Woodrose School to claim a spot in the final four, where they will battle DLSZ for a shot at the finals.
The second team—made up of Rocio Climent , Annika Mallari, Alexis McLean, Dan Tuazon, Katrina Hernandez, and Sam Jaucian— was knocked out of the championship contention by Arellano University. After defeating San Sebastian College in the semis of the consolation round bracket, the team will face Letran College for the top spot in the lower division.
The women however, fared much better in the Interschool Ladies Division, where 32 competitors from different schools participated in a knockout format battle for the gold. Amistad, Mallari, Hernandez, Sampaton, and Pages emerged victorious in the preliminary singles round, but only Amistad and Sampaton would make it past the round of 16 to gain slots in the quarterfinals on August 16. Amistad will face Bea Acena of St. Mary’s Catholic School for a semifinals berth, while Sampaton is up against Ingrid Gonzales of UST, who knocked out captain Hernandez in the previous round.
Meanwhile in a 64- competitor knockout of the men’s singles, Blue Eagle Vistan Santino will face Jefrrie Jumawan of Letran College to earn his place in the next 32 on August 15.
